Telangana Still Has Over 300 Villages Without Mobile Coverage
Over 300 Telangana villages still without mobile access despite high Tele-Density, Governor urges swift action
Hyderabad: More than 300 villages remain without mobile network access, even as the state reports above-average tele-density and internet penetration. The gap was acknowledged during a World Telecommunications Day meeting between Governor Jishnu Dev Varma and officials from the department of telecommunications (DoT), led by Prashant R. Patil, Special Director General Telecom, APLSA Hyderabad.
According to the DoT, Telangana has 4.8 crore mobile connections with a tele-density of 109.27 per cent and internet tele-density of 94.92 per cent — both higher than the national average. Of the 10,203 census villages in the state, 9,957 have mobile coverage. The remaining 303, mostly in remote or tribal regions, are yet to be connected. Officials said these areas would be brought under coverage through new 4G towers under the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) initiative, but gave no timeline.
Patil also shared that the state has 30,744 mobile towers, placing Telangana above the national average in tower density. He said broadband and mobile services are being extended to gram panchayats, schools, health centres, and other rural points of access. The Governor urged faster implementation, especially in interior districts, and called for integration of telecom with governance platforms like E-Panchayat.
The meeting also reviewed measures to tackle telecom fraud and enhance user safety. The department has rolled out 100 per cent biometric-based digital KYC and banned paper-based SIMs since January 2024. Fraud detection tools like the ASTR system, the Sanchar Saathi app, and the Digital Intelligence Platform have contributed to a sharp drop in spoofed calls and fraudulent activity. Telangana is also among the top-performing states in mobile phone recovery via the CEIR (Central Equipment Identity Register).
Citizens can now use platforms like Chakshu to report spam calls, verify SIM usage, and track lost devices — but officials did not disclose how many complaints have been addressed or the average resolution time.
While the Governor acknowledged progress, he noted that ground-level connectivity must match the figures on paper.
